chrisf

Good morning one and all The mind boggles ... Well, so far so good. By 1 pm yesterday the insurance company had been in touch to take down my particulars and a hire car arranged and delivered. It is a Golf 1.6 litre diesel with, I thought, no handbrake until I found a small switch where the handbrake should be. I did a test drive to the supermarket for a retimed fodder run. The body shop in Swindon have taken delivery of the damaged Polo and await clearance to proceed with the repair. The very helpful chap at the insurance company thought that I might use the hire car to get to Swindon to retrieve mine when the time comes. This is, on the face of it, a much better idea than five hours plus on the bus so I shall pop into Europcar's local outpost this morning and ask them nicely. The sense of relief that all planned engagements bar yesterday's lunch can proceed is difficult to articulate. They include an HMRS meeting tomorrow, the visit to Poorly Pal on Thursday, the Southampton show on Sunday and a high profile concert next week. Phew! With a return to something near normal, at least for the time being, warm thoughts to the lonely and depressed, to all travellers especially those on the A420 and to the ailing, recovering, supporting, grieving and missing. Finally for today, thanks again to all who have proffered kind words and thoughts. I'm touched. Chris

They did not get rid of Miranda. She is to busy with other work to appear. Chris

Good morning one and all "Thank you" is putting it oh so mildly for all the kind expressions of support. I am apprehensive of the phone call from the insurance company for my not-so-inner cynic tells me that insurance covers everything except what happens. I could not really settle to anything yesterday but there is still plenty to do, car or no car. I just don't feel like doing it! One daft idea that entered my head was how to get to Swindon to fetch the wretched vehicle in due course. How about X5 "express" bus from Bedford to Oxford [2h30m], changing to route 66 from Oxford to Swindon [1h30m]? I have a bus pass. Hmmm ... I normally do some sort of forward look on Mondays so here goes. Today I am not now having lunch with a friend. I will make it up to him later, even though the discount voucher which prompted the idea will have expired. Tuesday will see a fodder run, as will Friday and possibly also Wednesday depending on how long the list becomes. Thursday should be lunch with Poorly Pal and if by some miracle I have a courtesy car available by then it might just happen. Walk on, walk on, with hope in your heart. Fondest thoughts to all who have their troubles, whether or not they share them with others. Knowing whether or not to do so is not always easy.and I apologise if I have got it wrong. Chris

Lion - white with gold lining, D0260. Looked a bit like a 47. Chris

Rick, I'm fine, thanks - unhurt. As far as I could see under the arc lights of the yard where the car was taken, the radiator grille is broken and the front bumper partly smashed and distorted to the point where it rubs on the front passenger side wheel. One of the lights that pokes out from the bumper is hanging loose. As far as I know that is the extent of the damage. It could have been a lot worse. I don't even know if it was a deer but whatever it was had gone when we passed the scene later in the recovery truck. I have to wait in tomorrow until the insurance company get back to me, hence lunch with my mate will have to go. Later this morning I will talk to Poorly Pal. Subject to what happens tomorrow, my view of insurance tends towards the cynical. I believe that it covers everything except what happens. Chris

Good morning one and all As Mike Stationmaster has revealed, I was at the Cardiff show yesterday and thoroughly worthwhile it was too. On the way home I diverted to Bristol to spend an hour or so with my aunt, now nearly 93 and in fine form. The homeward run went fine. Until ... Just before 7 pm on the A420 between Swindon and Oxford an animal, possibly a deer, hit my car. The front bumper is badly damaged and the car cannot be driven safely. It has been recovered and tomorrow will be taken to a body repair shop in Swindon. The recovery driver kindly dropped me at Swindon station. My attempts to make the ticket machine work were fruitless and there was no sign of a booking office. It turned out to be behind a shutter. Another traveller advised me to pay on the train but of course it was just pulling out as I reached the platform. The next was in 45 minutes but at least a member of staff - yes, really - convinced me that paying on the train would be OK despite loudspeaker announcements about penalty fares. Fortunately the guard acknowledged my plight and for a mere £41.05 I had my ticket home. It opened the barriers on the Underground but not at St Pancras LL. Then the four car all-stations train to Bedford was full and standing and I had to be hauled on board after missing my footing as the doors began to shut. Oh boy. Today began badly as I was wakened at 4.30 am by cramp in my right calf. Later I have some calls to make cancelling various appointments. Among the casualties will be lunch with a mate tomorrow since I need to be available when the insurance company calls. If they do not make a courtesy car available Poorly Pal does not get his lunch on Thursday and I don't get to various other things. How I get the repaired car back from Swindon is another matter altogether. Best wishes to everyone Chris

Unexpected good morning one and all. I don't need to leave for my destination for another half hour and it won't take that long to scrape the ice from the car. I see that we are on page 5619. This number is shared with a preserved GWR 0-6-2 tank - not "taffy tank", please! - which earned itself some notoriety by running away down the Big Hill pushed by its train and ending up at the bottom in a crumpled heap. This, of course, is no way to describe Taffs Well. Its frames were twisted in its encounter with Mother Earth and it's never been quite right since. Sidmouth of this parish is organising an appeal to get the loco repainted into BR black, to which I have not yet quite got round to subscribing. I will, though. For a change, I tried a different supermarket for the fodder run yesterday. I noticed that some prices are not as keen as those where I normally shop but the different bus ride was pleasant enough. How can anyone enjoy shopping? Discuss. There may be some entertaining tales tomorrow. We shall see. Sadly I shall miss some culture in Chepstow today, to wit the Mari Llwyd, but I can't be everywhere. Fun trying though ... Best wishes to the lonely and depressed, to all travellers [moi aussi aujourd'hui] and to the ailing, recovering, supporting, grieving and missing. Chris

Good morning one and all. God bless America ... The Tom Paxton concert was most enjoyable. He had a few things to say about the new President - "as charming as a pack of wolves" was just one. "How beautiful upon the mountain" is today's earworm. To my surprise and thanks to some uncharacteristically nifty footwork I found myself at the head of the queue for autographs and will enjoy playing the two CDs eventually. Andyram, is there a basis for negotiation following that visit? If you don't ask you don't get. Just a thought. Today should see the fodder run but I'm not quite sure what I need apart from something to go in sandwiches for tomorrow. There will be a stupidly early start in the morning so it's best to assume that I will post again on Sunday. Best wishes to the lonely and depressed, to all travellers and to the ailing, recovering, supporting, grieving and missing. Glad to learn DD's good news. Chris

One of my many intermittent projects is doing up the Replica version of this. I have brass sides from two manufacturers and neither match each other or the plastic model. Ho hum ... Chris

Good morning one and all I do not have much luck with discount coupons generated by shop tills which do not state clearly enough what goods they cover. One such case occurred yesterday when I went shopping for personal organiser refills in my local WHSmith, armed with a coupon that tempted me with 25% discount. At the till the coupon would not work. The assistant said that it was because I had selected Filofax brand refills or, as the coupon proclaimed, wallets. After a futile argument about what constitutes a wallet the manager was summoned and the exchange continued. Finally the proposed purchases were replaced with the nearest available own brand products – and the coupon still would not work! Blaming the bar code, eventually the manager deducted an approximation of 25% from the bill and we parted on good terms. Pragmatic solutions are often the best. Area Group was good and the M1 behaved itself in both directions. Next time the meeting is in my neck of the woods. I popped out last night to confirm with the venue that it would be OK. It will: the ale house is sparsely attended during the week and is attractive for that very reason. There is no threat of Sky Sports or those clad in tribal costumes that it tends to attract. Tonight I return to The Stables to enjoy the iconic folk singer Tom Paxton. Before that the spectre of the ironing board raises its ugly head, or would do if ironing boards have heads. After lunch I have been enjoying the new series of "Father Brown" with Mark Williams in the title role but today's episode is the last in the series. Will I succumb to the lure of the re-runs next week? Tempting as it can be to slob out all day, there are always essential tasks that must be discharged long before there can be any thoughts of m*d*ll*ng. On that happy [?] note, best wishes to the lonely and depressed, to all travellers [wonder how the talks between Southern and ASLEF are going?] and to the ailing, recovering, supporting, grieving and missing. Chris

Good morning one and all Last night saw an enjoyable concert by the Pitmen Poets. Two more CDs, autographed of course, are added to the mountain inside the hessian bag. Today sees the Area Group lunch and meeting which will be enjoyable if the M1 behaves itself. Today also sees talks in the Southern dispute. Let us hope that they do not turn into a dialogue of the deaf. May those taking part be given the will to succeed. Warm thoughts to the lonely and depressed, to all travellers [especially those on the M1 late morning and teatime!] and to the ailing, recovering, supporting, grieving and missing. Chris

"Enough cash was raised or promised to permit a start on construction in 1883 at the Acton end. A house standing on the site of the proposed Acton station near Friar's Place was demolished and an iron bridge erected over the N&SWJR near the present motorway [ie Western Avenue] bridge. This activity ceased when the money ran out; neither the GWR nor the Metropolitan were prepared to come to the rescue ...* If I quote any more of Jackson's book the OP will be cursing me for wasting his money! Chris

According to Jackson the Latimer Road and Acton was promoted in 1881 and got the first of its many Acts in 1882. Chris

Good question ... Chris

Good morning one and all I am too easily distracted. I would have been here half an hour ago but for stumbling across a pic from the John Wiltshire collection on Facebook, finding some more on the Flickr account of the person who now owns the negatives and puzzling over exactly where some of the photographs were taken. When is Cogan not Cogan? When it is the site of the very short-lived Llandough Halt, now a petrol station IIRC. Thank you, Pete, for the kind thought about the ironing. It is absolutely ages since I was in a laundrette. My spin dryer copes manfully with the loads that I put in it and I hope it lasts until I get weak and feeble and have to migrate to an all-purpose washing machine. It is not so long ago that I would take my laundry down to the river and I still wonder what happened to the two large stones that I used to grind out the dirt. JohnDMJ, the Gotthard base tunnel is another example of bold Swiss construction. The time seemed to pass rapidly as we traversed it but part of this was attributable to trying to find seats given that the on-board computer of the temperamental Italian train conveying us from Bellinzona to Basel had not displayed our reservations and the guard would do nothing about it: perhaps he was on secondment from a British TOC. We got to Bellinzona on that rarity in Switzerland, a double-deck bus, through the San Bernardino Pass and its splendid scenery. Tonight sees a concert at the Stables featuring the Pitmen Poets. For the cognoscenti, these are Jez Lowe, Bob Fox, Benny Graham and the guy who used to be Mitch in Maxi and Mitch. I expect to enjoy it. Before that there is the fodder run and more flipping laundry. Such is life. Best wishes to the lonely and depressed, to all travellers [is there a Southern strike today? It is no longer headline news] and to the ailing, recovering, supporting, grieving and missing. Chris

At the risk of appearing facetious, we are dangerously close to "Clarendon" territory. The builders of this fine P4 layout have set it in the environs of Wormwood Scrubs, which might well have been crossed by the Latimer Rod and Acton. A fuller account of what really happened and did not happen may be found in "London's Local Railways" by Alan A Jackson. Chris

Good morning one and all, with apologies for lateness on parade. The delay was caused by a long hot wallow, which soaked away a bit of exhibition fatigue, and by nipping outside in the rain to move my car once again to a more congenial place. It will be a busy week. Today I will keep my almost regular appointment with Pamela the receptionist at the newspaper office. Why can they not employ delivery brats who actually deliver the paper? Then I will visit Waterstones to try and order a book. Tomorrow will see the fodder run in the morning and a concert at the Stables in the evening. On Wednesday there is the quarterly Area Group lunch and on Thursday a return to The Stables, this time to see Tom Paxton after what must be 50 years. Plans for Saturday are still emerging. I know where I would like to be but not all things are feasible. I admit it: I was bewildered by Sherlock last night. I hope I am not alone. Certain actors and dramatists are too clever by half, unlike me. Best wishes to the lonely and depressed, to all travellers and to the ailing, recovering, supporting, grieving and missing. Chris

Beware of the E148. It has a different body profile which is as near as dammit vertical above the waist. Chris

I think you mean Acton Main Line [where I did most of my early spotting!] and A40 Western Avenue - Westway is the continuation of Western Avenue beyond Western Circus and heads east, parallel to Ducane Road. Chris

Good morning one and all Yesterday was enjoyable but cold. A qualm on the way to Whittlesey led me to stop for breakfast at the Black Cat Little Chef. I am glad I did because when I got to the 'Spoons breakfast, of sorts, was being served in cardboard boxes. I enjoyed the dancing and meeting some old friends. Has anyone come across Clausentum Morris? There are but four of them and they take up a lot of space with their high energy, high-stepping dances that remind me greatly of Morris Offspring. This means nothing to you, does it? In the evening an OK concert with Vin Garbutt who raised lots of laughs with talk of his medication. Today I will be at the Stevenage show, newly relocated from Snorbens. As I have to go via Black Cat I may have breakfast there again. A busy week follows, verging on crazy, but more of that tomorrow. Warm thoughts to the lonely and depressed, to all travellers and to the ailing, recovering, supporting, grieving and missing Chris

Good morning one and all Flying visit today as I'm off to Whittlesey for the Straw Bear festival with lots of dancing in the streets which I love to watch. There will be some top dance teams such as Mortimers Morris, Customs and Exiles, Chiltern Hundreds, Red Leicester and Gog Magog Molly. Where did I put my balaclava? Usual greetings Chris

Howard, I think they did. Frogmore Confederacy offer two different etches, pre and post 1935 I think. Chris

Good morning one and all So far, so good: there is as yet no snow on the ground here. Knowing my luck, and it is Friday 13th, it will come in time to impede my journeys to Whittlesey tomorrow and Stevenage on Sunday. Both involve the A1 which tends to be kept clear. I did an extra fodder run yesterday because there was too much on the list to carry on the bus. Today I will go back for the stew ingredients. Stewart, noted re Aldi. We do have one but it is out of town next to the branch surgery and on a different bus route. I will buy suitable beef, a can of tomato soup and some appropriate vegetables such as carrots, leek, parsnip, turnip, swede and a few mushrooms. Into my largest casserole it will all go on a low light and should be ready by about 4.30 pm with dumplings added half an hour earlier. I found some gems in my store cupboard, including a pack of Pearce Duff blancmange of indeterminate age, a box of lemon meringue pie mix and a packet of Carmelle even older than the other one. I was looking for the drum of cornflour as I fancied albino custard to go with the apple pie that was on special offer. This was inspired in a way by the Hairy Bikers who made chocolate custard on TV yesterday to go with their banana tarte tatin. Drool. Sadly there is more to life than cooking. Yesterday I generated some more ironing. Best wishes to the lonely and depressed, to all travellers be they snowbound or Southern bound - and I noticed no mention of the latest oxymoronic industrial action on the news - and to the ailing, recovering, supporting, grieving and missing. Chris

The creamy white ones on the right hand side. Chris

Good morning one and all The WI stall was not there when I went to the market yesterday. I do hope they have not run out of essential supplies for their marmalade cauldrons. I shall try again next Wednesday. Apart from that, a reader's letter in the new Radio Times sent me scurrying to the i-player. Sure enough, I had missed two episodes of EastEnders while supposedly catching up. Some will wonder how anyone can tell but I would never have forgiven myself if I had missed the poignant scene between Lee and the car park attendant. Apart from that, life is unremarkable for now. This is about to change, with imminent visits to Whittlesey, Stevenage show and a nearby theatre for a concert by Vin Garbutt. Stewart 45156 will know who he is - a folk legend from Teesside. On Monday there could well be the weekly trip to the newspaper office. Someone the other day speculated that it is a good local paper. It is better than the competition but this is akin to comparing measles with chicken pox. Then come lots of hectic things of which more anon. When I do the fodder run tomorrow I shall get the ingredients for another good old-fashioned beef stew. As the weather is about to get colder it seems only right. Feeling much colder in the wind, the man says. Oh joy. Best wishes to the lonely and depressed, to all travellers [the poor devils in Southernland still need us] and to the ailing, recovering, supporting, grieving and missing. Chris